Egypt imprisons “TikTok Girls»
A Cairo court sentenced Haneen Hossam (20) and Mowada el-Adham (22) to two years of imprisonment and a fine of 300000 Egyptian pounds (around 15000 euros) for disseminating the social network TikTok, popular with young people around the world, on Instagram and elsewhere.
You are the first to condemn at least nine Egyptian women known as "TikTok Girls” who have been arrested since April for their appearances on social media. Three men were sentenced to the same sentence as “co-conspirators” for helping Hossam and el-Adham get featured on social media. “In their 15-second clips,” according to the AP report,
“Women who put on makeup pose in cars, dance in the kitchen and joke in skits - familiar and seemingly tame content for the platform. But their popularity on social media has been their downfall in Egypt, where citizens can end up in jail for vague crimes such as "social media abuse", "spreading fake news" or "inciting debauchery and immorality ”. "
Accused of "procuring"
Haneen Hossam was arrested in March after a internettumult because of a video in which they had an internet platform called as advertised who pays users money to entice other people to join as well.
In the three-minute video, Hossam said she wanted to start a group for girls over 18 who could “make money” this way from home. She was then charged with "procuring".
À Mowada al-Adham, who was arrested in May, no one can give an exact cause that led to the arrest - other than being famous and feminine, and known for sometimes satirical lip-syncing and dance videos. The blog For exampleetptian streets abstract their work together on social media as follows:
“Content from her final days on Instagram shows how el-Adham mourns the deaths of Egyptian soldiers who were martyred in Sinai, how she tells people to stay home, and how she interviews a nutritionist. On TikTok, current videos show how she drives an expensive car, dances in a shark romper, wishes people a happy Ramadan, moves her lips in sync to an Arabic song and much more. “
State repression
In stark contrast to the gravity of these "acts" is the energy with which the authorities apparently attacked El-Adham. Egyptian streets reports that since the police could not find her at her home during the attempted arrest, they found her cell phone and were looking for her car. She had already been arrested in March for violating the curfew.
Like the British newspaper The independent reported, the prosecutor of el-Adham also wanted to carry out a "virginity test" to find out if she had ever had vaginal sex. She refused, according to the newspaper. According to According to the World Health Organization WHO, the “virginity test” is performed by authorities in at least 20 countries around the world. WHO writes:
“Virginity tests are often done by examining the hymen for cracks or the size of the opening, and / or inserting the fingers into the vagina (the two-finger test). Both techniques are practiced on the assumption that the appearance of the female genitalia may indicate the sexual activity of a girl or a woman. The WHO says there is no evidence that either of these methods can prove whether a woman or girl has had vaginal sex or not. "
WHO and other United Nations bodies have called on Egypt and other countries to end this practice, but to no avail.
"Systematic and organized action against women"
Several other women known on social media and called “TikTok Girls” are currently in detention and awaiting trial. The cases continue a wave that has been evident for years: not only are human rights activists and regime critics targeted by Egyptian authorities, but also women who do not express themselves politically but are publicly a way that the regime does not like.
On the one hand, this includes women who because they've posted reports online on social media that they've been raped or some other form of sexual assault.
Given this persecution of victims and the impunity of the vast majority of perpetrators, it was a momentous event when hundreds of Egyptian women recently publicly denounced a man of sexual assault and blackmail. regarder and this time, the alleged perpetrator was arrested instead of the victim. But this is the exception.
"Violation of Egyptian family values"
It was not until May that Menna Abdel-Aziz, 17, also known by TikTok, after posting a video showing her with facial injuries that appeared to be due to abuse. She reported that a 25-year-old man she named raped her and that her friends filmed the rape and blackmailed it.
Although the alleged perpetrators were arrested days later and a forensic investigation revealed Abdel-Aziz's testimony confirmed, she was also arrested and charged with “abuse of social networks, incitement to debauchery and violation of Egyptian family values”. In June, the charges against her were dropped and Abdel-Aziz was sent to a center for battered women. briefed.
On the other hand, many prominent women are arrested for dressing in a way that the regime or religious authorities disapprove of. One such case was that of actress Rania Youssef, who, because of a revealing dress - whose upper arms and thighs were visible - was arrested.
Again and again, Egyptian singers Sentenced to prison for music videos. In April, she became a belly dancer Sama al-Masry also arrested for “debauchery” and “violation of family values” because the prosecutor said he found “sexually suggestive” material of her on TikTok. El-Masry said it was stolen from his cell phone and downloaded without his knowledge. In June, she was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 300000 Egyptian pounds condemned.
Intimidation of non-compliant women
Anonymous activists have one on July 15 Internet petition in which they demand the release of all women imprisoned for "debauchery". They write:
“We take note of this systematic and organized repression against women on TikTok. It starts with men creating content on YouTube and targeting female users who disagree with their moral stance.
When these men pillory women, defame them, and threaten them with imprisonment, they foster a culture of violence that normalizes and justifies the punishment of the women named. Prosecution follows men's allegations against women TikTokers and issues an arrest warrant. “
German Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Federal Foreign Office, Bärbel Kofler, wrote in a press release that she was "appalled by the series of arrests and convictions of young influencers and bloggers in Egypt". Mawada el-Adham and Haneen Hossam were "sentenced to jail terms and absurdly high fines". She also shared:
"This type of restriction on freedom of expression, which particularly targets young women who communicate with great success on social networks on various subjects, must be firmly rejected!" These judgments, whose legal basis is questionable, aim to intimidate a whole generation of brave young women! "
The German federal government discusses human rights, in particular the right to freedom of expression, "regularly in discussions with representatives of the Egyptian government," Kofler continued.
This post first appeared at Mena watch.
